The Snake's Return
by S. Solstice
Summary: A sort of sequel to the Soul Eater anime. Old enemies are brought back in a new way. A dash of romance here and there, along with the humor and action we all look forward to when watching or reading Soul Eater.


- Episode 1 : New Year, New Student -

"I wonder who will teach our class this year?" Maka turned to her friend and partner Soul Eater, who was staring at the ceiling and seemed to be in another world. Maka thought he was ignoring her until he sighed and turned to look at her.

"I don't care, honestly," he sighed. "I'm just glad we're out of Stein's class."

"Professor Stein is…is…well," Maka tried to find the right word, but was interrupted as their other friends, Black Star and Tsubaki, arrived. Soul and Black Star high-fived and began to have 'boy talk' time. Tsubaki smiled and sat down next to Maka. Soul said something to Black Star that caused both to begin to laugh. Maka gave Soul an angry glare and opened her book; Tsubaki sighed and let her head fall to stare at her hands. Maka noticed Kidd, Liz, and Patti enter the room. They took their seats one row in front of where the others sat. Patti turned around, poked Maka, and smiled. Maka waved and went back to her book, trying to block out the mix of conversations. Nobody was ready for classes to begin again; everyone was still hung up on vacation and all the fun that accompanies it. Through the racket Maka heard the quick footsteps of a student hurrying to class. It turned out to be Crona, who entered the classroom, looked around for her friends, and quickly made her way to sit next to Tsubaki. Tsubaki and Maka greeted her, and she nodded shyly in response. Crona had reluctantly agreed to attend classes; all her friends had insisted that she not only attend, but be allowed to. Shinigami-sama happily agreed, as Crona had proved a valuable ally and a good student. Then, just under the cacophony, another noise emerged. The squeak of a rolling chair.

"Quiet down, students." At the voice, the room fell quiet. Not because of the command issued by the teacher, but by the voice itself.

"No!" Soul dramatically yelled, throwing himself onto his work area. Black Star fell over 'dead,' and many groans issued from the rest of the students.

"Good morning, class," Professor Franken Stein sang, rolling across the floor of the classroom in his chair. "It is good to see you all again." He smiled and let the students get the rest of their displeasure out.

"Why?" Soul hissed. "Why does it have to be him? Let Sid teach us. Or your dad, Maka. Anyone…"

Maka frowned. "Don't even suggest Papa. Worse things would happen if he were to teach. And we wouldn't learn a thing."

"Now then, class, before we begin, I have a new student to introduce." This caught the class's attention. Soul opened one eye, and Black Star came back to life. Liz stopped filing her nails, and even Patti stopped playing with her pencil. Stein rose from his seat and walked back to the threshold of the door. He seemed to be talking with the new student. They were in the shadows, but the students could make out their figure.

"Come on, don't be shy," Stein said calmly to the new pupil. They didn't hear its reply, but it didn't seem to satisfy Stein.

"You agreed to come to class," he said, raising his voice slightly. "Everyone is waiting to meet you." A mumble from the reluctant student.

"Come on," Stein growled, grabbing the student by the arm. He then proceeded to half drag them into the room. They wore loose black pants and a black jacket, hood up. The long sleeves of the jacket covered their hands. None of their face was visible under the hood. The only visible part was their feet, which were bare. Their toenails were painted black, and their skin was pale, almost sickly. It seemed to have a grey tint to it.

"Class, this is—" Stein noticed the hood and frowned. "Take that off."

"No," the student hissed. Only a few even noticed they had said anything. Stein sighed, lit a cigarette, and gave the child a long look. Then, in a quick, effortless motion, he flipped the hood off.

The appearance of the girl hit the class hard. Her skin _was_ a greyish color; it wasn't that her feet were just dirty. She had thin lips, which were parted in a surprised gasp. Her small nose was turned up slightly, her large, slanted eyes a lifeless grey. Black hair cut in a sharply so that the front ended in points, while the back remained short. The students, especially Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kidd, Patti, and Liz, had the feeling that they had seen this girl somewhere before. No one had ever met a person that looked like this, but she reminded them all of someone. They could almost, but not quite, remember who she looked like. Nobody said anything for the next few moments; they were all too busy taking her in and trying to recall who she reminded them of. The girl stood frozen next to Stein, who seemed to be evaluating the class' reaction to their new classmate. Nobody could think of who she looked like, and nobody thought anybody else could remember either. That is, nobody save Crona, whose jaw had dropped the moment Stein had removed the girl's hood. She was screaming, silently, her nails digging into her legs. The urge to rise and flee the room was overwhelming; the need to cry out was almost as strong. Ragnarok, too, was overcome with Crona's feelings. Slightly annoyed, he glanced through her eyes to see what was causing her distress. Suddenly disgusted, he retreated and decided to not influence Crona's actions. Even he did not know how to deal with this new…development.

Maka noticed Crona's discomfort too late. Just as she was about to say something, the girl's gaze locked with Crona's. They looked into each other's eyes for less than a second. Then Crona screamed.

"M-M-Medusa!"

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In the pandemonium that followed Crona's outburst, quite a few things happened. Firstly, Crona fainted. Maka and Tsubaki rushed to catch her and attempt to revive her. Once it was apparent she wasn't just going to wake up, Black Star and Tsubaki rushed her off to the infirmary. Soul had grown quiet and was staring this girl down.

_Medusa? No way. She's dead…Medusa is __**dead**__._

Kidd was also quiet. He was examining this girl. Even though he didn't want to believe it, he had to admit that Crona seemed to be right. There was some quality about this girl that reminded him strongly of the Snake Witch. This terrified him.

_Father must be told immediately…_

Liz was holding back her own panic attack; Patti had gone back to playing with her pencil. And, all the while, the girl had grown more and more still. Stein was smiling happily to himself, spinning around in his chair.

"Okay, okay, calm down, everybody," he said. It was then that it struck Maka. She had never heard Professor Stein speak in such a way. Almost as if…all his troubles had been relieved. The insanity had affected him much more than any other person fighting against it, even to the point that he had gone to Medusa. He had recovered, along with the rest of the world, after the sky had been rid of its bloody glow, but there was a certain…tranquil quality about him now. Which was especially strange, not to even be annoyed slightly, considering that his classroom was in chaos.

"I told you this would happen."

At her words, the room fell silent. The girl, head bowed, fists clenched, had spoken.

"Told me what would happen?" Stein stood and began to approach the girl.

"I told you they would hate me, you idiot!" she screamed. Stein looked taken aback; half the class flinched. The girl, her face torn in agony and embarrassment, tears beginning to form, streaked out of the room, her bare feet slapping against the floor. Stein put out his cigarette and seemed to be mulling over what to do next.

"Professor Stein." Kidd had risen from his seat, his face calm and collected.

"Yes, Kidd?"

"That girl should not be allowed to run about the school. I will go after her, if you'll allow me."

"Huh," Stein said, sitting back down. "I guess you're right. Who knows what kind of destruction she could cause?" Though his tone was playful, Liz noticed that Kidd's cool expression tightened slightly.

"Should we?..." Liz began.

"No. Stay here." Kidd left the classroom without another word.

"Well then. Class sure did start with a bang this year, didn't it?" Stein grinned and spun once. "But now that all the excitement has died down, I think it's time we began the lesson."

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_to be continued_


End file.
